Page County officials unveil FY2027 budget, propose lower real-estate and personal property tax rates

County Administrator Amity Moler presented the proposed FY2027 budget for July 1, 2026–June 30, 2027, telling the Board that department heads were asked to submit budgets with no service increases unless fully justified. The budget review included a line-by-line evaluation with Finance Director Tyler Olsen and meetings with department heads where requests required substantial change.

Moler outlined expenditure changes including personnel adjustments, pay increases, higher health insurance costs, concluding School Resource Officer grant funding, and increased landfill equipment repair costs; she said the Sheriff’s Office expects to reduce inmate housing expenditures by about $200,000. The proposal would set the Real Estate tax rate at $0.53 per $100 of assessed value (current rate $0.73) and the Personal Property tax rate at $3.80 per $100 (current $4.30). Moler said tourism contributes nearly $3 million annually to the General Fund and that, without tourism revenue, the Real Estate rate would need to be approximately $0.60 per $100.

The proposed Capital Improvement Plan totals $3,049,046 (of which $438,305 is state-funded) and includes phone and computer upgrades, vehicles, an ambulance, a Fire‑EMS Shenandoah station remodel, ECC call-handling equipment, a landfill compactor, County Government Center parking lot work, and Health Department access and window improvements. Fund balance is projected to end FY2027 at $14,787,247, above the county’s required minimum of $7,232,299. The Board set public hearings on the tax rate and county and school budgets for April 20, 2026, at 7:00 p.m. at the Page County Government Center.